The most famous police station in Britain is New Scotland Yard in London, but there are police stations all over the country.
For most people the police are the face of the law. They can arrest people in the street, but they also give information.
A suspect criminal is being charged with a crime. He must hand over everything ge's carrying or has got in his pockets. Next they take fingerprints to check the person's identity.
Suspects can be kept in the cells at the police station for several hours.
Next day he went to court. Here three magistrates listen to evidence from the police and witnesses. They then dcide if the person is guilty or not guilty.
The evidence that the police collect from a crime scene is anarysed in laboratories like this. The people who work here are called forensic scientists. They can examine and analyse material from the crime scene to find out exactly what happened.
Fingerprints are a good way of identifying people but DNA is more reliable. A person's identity can be found from a single hair! Each person has got a unique DNA profile. DNA profiles can be matched on these computers.
The police are the most obvious part of the law in Britain. Froensic scientists provide the evidence that helps the courts decide whather a suspect is huilty of a crime or not. The courts then decide on the sentence.
